Phylicia Rashad apologized again for her reaction to Bill Cosby‘s release from prison in a new letter to Howard University students. On Wednesday, Rashad celebrated Cosby being released from a Pennsylvania prison after his sexual assault conviction was overturned due to a technicality. Cosby, 83, was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for the 2004 rape of Andrea Constand in 2018. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction, citing a 2005 agreement with a previous prosecutor that prevented Cosby from facing criminal charges.
In the letter to Howard University students Saturday, Rashad offered her “most sincere apology” for celebrating Cosby’s conviction being overturned, reports CNN. “My remarks were in no way directed towards survivors of sexual assault. I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence,” Rashad noted.
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The actress, who played Cosby’s on-screen wife in The Cosby Show, noted that she deleted the “upsetting tweet” and plans to “engage in active listening and participate in trainings to not only reinforce University protocol and conduct but also to learn how I can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors and everyone who has suffered at the hands of an abuser.” Rashad is a Howard University alumnus and was recently appointed dean of its College of Fine Arts.
On Wednesday, Rashad shocked and disappointed many by celebrating Cosby’s release from prison. “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected,” she wrote. Rashad, 73, later deleted the tweet and attempted to show support for Cosby’s victims. “I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward,” she wrote. “My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing.”
Howard University also issued a statement, noting that Rashad’s initial response to the news “lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault,” but said her follow-up tweet acknowledged that “victims must be heard and believed.” The university noted that “personal positions” of leadership do not reflect its policies. “We will continue to advocate for survivors fully and support their right to be heard. Howard will stand with survivors and challenge systems that would deny them justice. We have full confidence that our faculty and school leadership will live up to this sacred commitment,” the university’s statement read.
Sixty women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, rape, battery, and misconduct. The allegations date back to the 1960s and some were as recent as 2008. Cosby has not faced criminal charges in many of the cases since the statutes of limitation have expired. He was charged for the assault of Constand in 2015, just before the statute of limitations expired in Pennsylvania.
